A conventional hydraulic system includes a pump that draws low-pressure fluid from a tank, pressurizes the fluid, and makes the pressurized fluid available to multiple different actuators for use in moving the actuators. In this arrangement, a speed of each actuator can be independently controlled by selectively throttling (i.e., restricting) a flow of the pressurized fluid from the pump into each actuator. For example, to move a particular actuator at a high speed, the flow of fluid from the pump into the actuator is restricted by only a small amount. In contrast, to move the same or another actuator at a low speed, the restriction placed on the flow of fluid is increased. Although adequate for many applications, the use of fluid restriction to control actuator speed can result in flow losses that reduce an overall efficiency of a hydraulic system.
An alternative type of hydraulic system is known as a meterless hydraulic system. A meterless hydraulic system generally includes a pump connected in closed-loop fashion to a single actuator or to a pair of actuators operating in tandem. During operation, the pump draws fluid from one chamber of the actuator(s) and immediately discharges pressurized fluid back into an opposing chamber of the same actuator(s). To move the actuator(s) at a higher speed, the pump discharges fluid at a faster rate. To move the actuator with a lower speed, the pump discharges the fluid at a slower rate. A meterless hydraulic system is generally more efficient than a conventional hydraulic system because the speed of the actuator(s) is controlled through pump operation as opposed to fluid restriction. That is, the pump is controlled to only discharge as much fluid as is necessary to move the actuator(s) at a desired speed, and no throttling of a fluid flow is required.
An exemplary meterless hydraulic system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,369,625 of Izumi et al. that issued on Jan. 25, 1983 (the '625 patent). The '625 patent describes a multi-actuator meterless-type hydraulic system, wherein each actuator is paired with a pump in a closed-loop manner. As described above, a speed and rotational direction of each actuator is controlled by controlling a displacement angle of its paired pump.
Although an improvement over open-loop hydraulic systems, the closed-loop hydraulic system of the '625 patent described above may still be less than optimal. In particular, the system of the '625 patent may be prone to pump failure caused by shock-loading from the actuators. That is, during operation, each actuator can induce pressure spikes within the associated circuit when loading on the actuator suddenly changes. If these pressure spikes are allowed to travel in reverse direction through a discharge passage back to the paired pump, the spikes can create damaging loads on the pump. The system of the '625 patent does not provide protection against shock loading.
The hydraulic system of the present disclosure is directed toward solving one or more of the problems set forth above and/or other problems of the prior art.